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I never found issue with removing suckers to think of another tool. I use a sharpened heavy stone shovel and it gets the job done smoothly.

This tool isn't for removing suckers for transplanting, but rather just killing suckers for mat pruning/management. It becomes a very time and labor intensive process in commercial plantings, and is not always easy to successfully stop it from regrowing after pruning attempts.

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Growing bananas in Colorado, Hawaii and Washington since 2004.

This tool isn't for removing suckers for transplanting, but rather just killing suckers for mat pruning/management. It becomes a very time and labor intensive process in commercial plantings, and is not always easy to successfully stop it from regrowing after pruning attempts.

Bit about bits ... we use that tip in building to run electric wires thru the studs, generally called a "speed bit" as they go fast and pull themselves. We break them by hitting hidden nails ... in the banana patch rocks would probably dull or break sometimes. It looks like they designed the tool to have the bit be replaceable.

Someone with good knowledge of banana keiki anatomy should test the bit size and length that would be best. (These tools are roughly sold by weight of the steel, and most of us would wince at the price of a good long strong bit.) And which angle to drill into the parent plant, how far, etc. And if using a drill extension to get the length, how robust does that need to be, and how sturdy does the connection have to be to pull the bit back out - could one get by with just a magnetic extension?

I though the big plantations sold the pups, and/or replanted them to replace/renew dead plants & areas.

The majority of commercial farms replant using tissue cultured plants, suckers are not as common as you would think, and especially not on large farms. Even if they were to be using suckers, there is usually always more that needs to be pruned than would be useful for replanting.

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Growing bananas in Colorado, Hawaii and Washington since 2004.

They work great. I made some a long time ago using #5 rebar. Mine basically looks like a hand powered drill with the bit end hammered flat. That looks like it does the damage on the way in while mine does the damage on the way out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by edwmax

I though the big plantations sold the pups, and/or replanted them to replace/renew dead plants & areas.

In the Caribbean there's always a surplus of pups on a farm and tissue cultures can't compete with the prices. People only buy pups when they are starting so that market is tiny and here pups are $0.30 each in RD they're about a nickel.

"Brazilian. The fruit is subacid and of poor quality; it has little to recommend it as a dessert banana, and its acceptance in Hawaii seems to be a good example of the power of need and habit in influencing the demands of a market." - Norman Simmonds - Musa Hall of Fame

They work great. I made some a long time ago using #5 rebar. Mine basically looks like a hand powered drill with the bit end hammered flat. That looks like it does the damage on the way in while mine does the damage on the way out.

if you know how to temper the rebar just right it will last a long time.

"Brazilian. The fruit is subacid and of poor quality; it has little to recommend it as a dessert banana, and its acceptance in Hawaii seems to be a good example of the power of need and habit in influencing the demands of a market." - Norman Simmonds - Musa Hall of Fame

Are you a banana plant enthusiast? Then we hope you will join the community. You will gain access to post, create threads, private message, upload images, join groups and more.

Bananas.org is owned and operated by fellow banana plant enthusiasts. We strive to offer a non-commercial community to learn and share information. Receive all three issues from Volume 1 of Bananas Magazine with your membership: